


And It All  Came Crashing     Down

by HideFromMeDarling



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alive Laura Hale, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Angst, Derek Takes Care Of Stiles, Emotional Constipation, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No abuse between Stiles and Derek, Stalking, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-12
Updated: 2014-10-03
Packaged: 2018-02-17 03:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2295230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HideFromMeDarling/pseuds/HideFromMeDarling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All was good for Stiles. He had a great scholarship, great friends, a great job and a great apartment. He had a grumpy yet insanely attractive boss who he, if he was honest with himself, didn't mind getting all up in his business. And he had even met somebody. Life was going to be great, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Did you find what you were looking for

**Author's Note:**

> So a few things: firstly, the rating of this thing might go up in later chapters. Secondly, I should seriously be doing something important right now instead of writing fanfiction. 
> 
> The story of all our lives I guess.
> 
> So here goes!

Stiles was pissed.

Stiles was so utterly, earth-shakingly pissed he couldn't even bring himself to yell in Scott's face or mutter any of his extremely creative curse words under his breath. He just stood there and stared at his best friend who, quite pathetically, had shielded himself behind his girlfriend. He could not believe Scott was asking this of him, _again_.

"I am not, and I repeat, am _not_ going to take your shift so you could have a goddamn date night!"

The last words were spat out like they were something dirty but Stiles couldn't bring himself to feel bad for that. Scott and Allison had plenty of time to whisper all the disgustingly sweet lovey-dovey feelings they had for each other over candle light on any given day. So why did it have to be this one?

"Stiles, it is Valentine's Day! You know, the time of the year when couples spend time together to celebrate their love?"

"You guys celebrate your love nearly every freaking night! Loudly, might I say. Sleep-disturbingly. _STILES-_ disturbingly!"

"Stiles, come on! It'd mean a lot! Besides, I know you don't have a date of your own so you might as well just take my shift and spend the day at work".

Alright. If Stiles had been pissed before, he was practically fuming now. Sure, he didn't have anyone but it was just plain rude of Scott to assume Stiles could not, under any circumstances, have found himself a date for Valentine's Day. Just plain rude.

"How do you know I don't have a date, huh? There might be a smoking hot girl just waiting for me to call so we can celebrate our love as many times as we can go!"

Or a guy. But Stiles decided now was, evidently, not the best time to have that particular conversation with Scott.

"Stiles".

"Scott".

Oh, no. The puppy-dog eyes had always been Stiles' weakness. Someone cleared their throat and Stiles turned his head. Oh, that was right. Allison.

"Stiles, we would really appreciate it if you did this for us".

Aaaaand, yup. That was it. Damn Allison and her stupidly sincere smile and her unfairly undeniable soft voice. She could probably lull sharks to sleep. Big, crazy-eyed killer sharks. And Stiles was fairly certain that sharks didn't even sleep at all.

Scott had gotten way too lucky.

"You guys owe me for this! You owe me big time!"

Scott rushed to hug and thank him before he headed out the door, Allison in tow. She offered Stiles a thankful, if not slightly amused little smile before she let herself be dragged away by her over eager puppy of a boyfriend. In a flash of Scott's floppy hair they were gone. Stiles would have to remind him to get it cut again.

Stiles glanced at the clock, figuring he'd have at least a couple of hours before he'd have to leave for work to cover for Scott. That was when the day decided to give him the finger yet again.

"Fucking shit!" It was half past four. Scott's shift started at five.

"Damn you Scott, damn you to hell! I'm gonna punch you in the face next time I see you..."

In a moment Stiles was out the door. His shower would need to wait. Hale would murder him if he was late on one of the busiest freaking days of the year.

Stiles decided right then and there that he absolutely hated Valentine's Day. With every fiber of his being.

 

(--)

 

"Stilinski!"

Stiles would never admit that he was startled to the point of almost dropping the huge pile of plates he was carrying.

"Umm, yes? Mister Hale?"

"Where the hell is McCall? He was supposed to be waiting tables tonight, not you".

Stiles decided to ignore the slight bit of distaste that could be heard coloring the last word.

"He didn't tell you? He wanted to have a date night with his- incredibly hot, by the way- girlfriend and dragged me out of bed on this ungodly day to cover for him. And just so you know, I'm already planning on killing him in some extremely painful way, so you don't have to bother".

Hale was clearly not amused by Stiles' rambling explanation. He just frowned a little deeper. Stiles wondered how it was fair that he didn't have any wrinkles for all the glaring he did. No complaints, though. Ogling at Hale's undeniably hot being was one of the many perks of the job. At least if you asked Stiles. Or any of the not-so-subtle waitresses that somehow always found time to flirtatiously flip their hair or compliment his cooking to the point of obscene. Even at the busiest hour. There was a downside to Hale's presence, too, though. He was constantly bugging Stiles. About anything and everything.

Hale stared at Stiles for a few more seconds, looking rather unhappy and just generally constipated, before dismissing him with a quick nod and turning to walk away.

Huh, Stiles thought. That wasn't so bad. Usually the obvious dislike Hale had for Stiles resulted in at least a little more growling on Hale's part and a little more nervous swallows on Stiles'. He left the stack of plates on the counter next to Hale's workstation and went to fetch the next order to be delivered.

That was when Stiles realized he hadn't eaten since morning.

He swallowed down on his hunger and ignored his heavily protesting stomach. He walked out of the kitchen, carrying two plates of delicious ravioli, made by, because irony was always Stiles' best friend, Hale. Of course. He taunted Stiles even when he had no idea he was doing it. Fuck him.

On second thought, fuck Stiles. Hale could definitely fuck Stiles.

After setting the plates down, wishing the two lovebirds a nice evening and mentally slapping himself for having such improper thoughts about the co-owner of the restaurant Stiles decided he could not possibly go on without a snack.

This wasn't really all that bad, right? Everyone who'd ever worked in a restaurant had surely taken a bite or two once in a while, Stiles was sure. Or maybe he was just too hungry to think straight and was making up excuses.

Oh well.

So when the next table announced they were done, leaving a rather generous amount of leftovers, Stiles took a little, insignificant detour around the corner with the plates and stuffed his face with chicken and broccoli. He had a hard time understanding how anyone could ever leave something so good uneaten.

Just as he was finishing up and licking his fingers clean someone yanked him backwards, nearly causing him to drop the plates.

"Just what do you think you are doing?"

Oh, fuck! It just had to be Hale. Of course it just had to be fucking Hale.

"Oh, umm, I'm just, y'know... Uh..."

"Stealing food? Avoiding work?"

And wow, Hale was kinda very extremely close.

"No! Just, uh, leftovers, they were leftovers and I'm a very hungry person! A very poor, hungry person! A student, actually. With pretty much no money. Nada. Zip. Zero".

God, Stiles hoped his rambling would be enough to distract Hale from his apparent attempt at ripping Stiles' throat out.

"Just please don't kill me".

It could've been Stiles' imagination, but he thought Hale looked at least a little less pissed off. Until he leaned in even closer, effectively crowding Stiles up against the wall.

"Don't let it happen again".

Hale's breath was ridiculously warm against Stiles' ear and wow, so not the moment for sexy time thoughts.

"Umm, okay, Mister Hale, I guarantee you, I'll lay off the leftovers, yeah?"

Hale just looked a little more annoyed again. Stiles had no idea how that was even possible.

"Lay off the 'Mister Hale', too, and we have a deal. That was my father's name. Call me Derek".

With that said, Hale... Derek let go of Stiles' shirt with a last look of... something, it was impossible to determine what, and walked away. Knowing him though, the look was probably some new level of irritation no one had ever been able to reach before. Well, what can you do, Stiles thought, if someone was too blind to appreciate the hilarious, awesome person he was.

He kind of got it, though.

 

(--)

 

"Oh, god, _eww_ , will you _please_...?!"

Stiles shut the door to his and Scott's shared apartment and briefly considered pouring a bottle of leach into his eyes. But no, that would hardly get rid of the memory. He'd have to open his skull and pour it onto his brain.

Various shuffling noises could be heard from behind the door and Stiles hoped to god there would be clothes involved when the door was opened. Scott stood there, looking exactly like he had been doing what he had been doing with Allison just a moment ago. So fucked out Stiles couldn't help but feel just a little bit jealous. Mostly disgusted, because Scott was like a damn brother to him, but a little jealous as well. It had been a long time for little Stiles.

"Dude. You just had to? After me taking your shift and having a shitty day at work, even though I could've spent my free time watching Star Wars, 'cause it's fucking awesome, and you seriously need to watch those movies, I swear, I cannot believe you haven't still, but yeah that was so not the thing I wanted to come home to".

Tired Stiles plus no Adderal for a day did not equal comprehensive and on-track speech. Well, Scott would just have to deal.

"Stiles, I am so sorry, we just got carried away, y'know...?" Scott apologized.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it". And Stiles really did. "I'm just really tired, okay?"

"Okay".

Stiles stumbled in and very pointedly avoided looking at Allison who seemed to be wrapped in some spare blankets on the couch. He headed straight for the shower, just wanting to relax.

And if that night Stiles fell onto his bed, sated and so throughly relaxed, thoughts lingering on Derek's grip on his shirt, then well. It was no one's business but his.

 

(--)

 

Some day, Stiles was going to murder his alarm clock. In cold blood.

As he heaved himself off the comfortable, oh, so comfortable bed, he thought of what he'd have to face today.

"Fucking college..."

The walk up to campus didn't take very long. The apartment he shared with Scott and, lately more and more often, with Allison was surprisingly conveniently placed. And, to be honest, even though Stiles sometimes complained about the workload, he loved college. It kicked high school's ass, if you asked him. Free of the confines of his sleepy hometown, Beacon Hills, he could really start building himself a future. Having Scott with him had been a major bonus too. Even Allison, who Scott had met on the first day of last semester, was a definite plus, because she was sure to keep Scott focused on school and so Stiles was free of that responsibility. All in all, life was good. Stiles even had a steady income in a semi-classy restaurant where Scott had gotten him hired. Apparently, Scott was great at customer service. No surprise there, for all the smiling that kid did. Stiles shook his head affectionately as he arrived on campus. It was going to be a long day.

"Hey! You there!"

Stiles turned around to see a guy about his age running towards him, looking confused. Stiles stopped, frustrated because he was going to be late with any more delays.

"Hey. Umm, sorry to bother you but, uh, could you by any chance show me where classroom..." The guy fumbled around with some papers and said: "314 is?"

"Psychology? Yeah, it's up these stairs and to the right. I'm actually heading there myself", Stiles said, pleased that he wasn't going to be late after all. "Just follow me".

The guy looked relieved and followed behind Stiles. He had mussy dark blonde hair and was actually rather attractive looking. Not as attractive as Derek though. And god, it felt weird for Stiles to call him that, even in his head. It felt too... familiar.

"So are you new or something? This building isn't really all that complicated, at least after you've been here for a while".

The guy chuckled and Stiles realized he didn't know his name.

"Yeah, you could say that"

Stiles frowned internally at the answer but decided not to pry. His name Stiles really wanted to know, though. So he asked.

"I'm Stiles by the way. Stilinski. And you?"

The guy smiled a rather charming smile as he answered and Stiles noticed the way it really lit up his face.

"Matt. Matt Daehler".


	2. At the corner of the street

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have some ust :)

"And I mean _perfect_! They've got such awesome ideas, y'know, and you should see the photos they take!"

Okay, so maybe Stiles could've spent his working hours a teeny bit more productively. But he just couldn't bring himself to care.

But then, naturally, Scott decided to ruin his great mood.

"Why do you keep saying 'they'?"

Stiles froze. He didn't want to lie to Scott. He'd just been hoping he wouldn't question Stiles' choice of pronouns to the point of actually _asking_ about it. Well, too late now.

"Umm, I just..." Scott looked at Stiles disbelievingly and raised a single eyebrow.

"You know that I know you like dudes, right?"

Stiles stared. What the hell?

Scott just chuckled. "It's been pretty obvious for the past, like, three years. I had no idea you were even trying to hide it".

Stiles stared some more. Scott's amusement only seemed to grow, but thankfully he dropped it. "So, what's his name?"

Stiles drew a deep breath. In a way, he was relieved he wouldn't have to have that profoundly awkward conversation about his sexual preferences with his best friend. That was one talk he had been avoiding for years.

Stiles' thoughts turned to Matt. He really was something. So smart, so kind and so incredibly talented. And then, for some weirder than all that was weird reason, Stiles thought of Derek. Thought of how hard-working he was. How devoted to his business. How incredibly... And whoa. Where had that come from? Stiles hated the guy. Aside from some very discreet appreciation of Derek's extremely nice form Stiles wanted to have nothing to do with him. And, well. The paycheck wasn't too bad, either.

"Stiles?"

Stiles blinked slowly. Scott was looking at him, clearly yet again amused by Stiles and his inability to focus.

"Thinking about him, huh?"

Or not.

"Stilinski! McCall!"

Stiles quickly grabbed some plates off the counter to seem like he wasn't just loitering around. Which he definitely was.

Derek's massive eyebrows were like storm clouds over his eyes as he glared at Stiles. When he raised the other one Stiles swore he heard thunder crackling. It was all very impressive.

"Uh, yes?" Stiles uttered and desperately tried to look busy.

"I wasn't aware we were paying you two for gossiping". Derek was clearly very, very done with Stiles.

"Yes, that was actually mentioned on the-"

"We'll get straight back to work, Mister Hale. Sorry". Thankfully Scott cut off Stiles' brilliantly sarcastic comment. It probably wouldn't have improved the situation. At all.

Derek cast a final, irritated look in their general direction before stomping away. Stiles noticed that he hadn't told Scott not to call him Hale. Huh. Scott nudged Stiles with his elbow and pushed himself off the counter.

"Come on. Let's go feed the hungry".

 

(--)

 

"Hey Stiles! You have any plans tonight?"

Matt was smiling his usual confident, yet hopeful smile and Stiles grinned at him in response.

"No, actually, I don't. Did you have something in mind?"

Matt pursed his lips. "Maybe. I was thinking we could hang out for a while, I don't really know anyone here and you could show me around town if that's okay?"

Stiles smiled reassuringly, happy to have a chance to spend some time with Matt.

"Sure, that sounds great. You have any more classes today?".

Matt practically beamed and he shook his head. "Nope, all free".

"Me too".

They grinned at each other and Stiles brought up the subject of a light lunch. Matt agreed to go grab something and they were off to a place Stiles liked to call his own personal heaven.

"Marianne's is like, the best coffee shop the world has seen in the history of freaking _ever_. They've got these really awesome smoked salmon-bagels and their blueberry pie is to _die for_. And I swear, you just  _have_  to the try chicken-bacon toast, there are no words!"

Matt chuckled, amused. He seemed to find Stiles' rambling endearing rather than annoying, which was a definite plus. It was hard for Stiles to control his gibberish on a normal day, let alone when he was slightly nervous. And that Stiles would definitely blame on Matt and his gorgeous eyes.

"Okay, I think I'll believe you and take the toast, then. Is this it?"

Stiles looked around and realized that yes, they had gotten all the way to the little coffee shop, indeed. They were standing at the corner of a fairly busy street Stiles had never bothered memorizing the name of. Marianne's was located at the perfect spot, a little secluded from the other businesses there, but not by too much. The cute little shop smelled deliciously of coffee, baked goods and fresh apples, and when Matt opened the green-painted door it wafted over them both, causing them to take deep, lingering breaths of the overpowering scent.

"Mm, it smells amazing in here", Matt stated, making Stiles nod in agreement. "I know, right?".

They walked up to an empty table and sat down on opposite sides. Soon a waitress arrived, a tired but genuinely friendly smile plastered on her face.

"What can I get for you boys?"

Neither of them did as much as to glance at the menu.

"I'll take the chicken-bacon toast, please. And a black coffee", Matt said, smiling secretively at Stiles.

"And I think I'll have the turkey sandwich and a caramel latte, thanks". Stiles really had a sweet tooth when it came to his coffee.

"Will that be all?", the waitress asked, smiling flirtatiously at Matt. He didn't seem to notice, though. His attention was solely fixed on Stiles as he tapped his fingers against the table. Stiles turned his face down and away to hide his smile.

"Yes, that's all, thanks".

The waitress sauntered off to deliver their orders. Stiles turned back to Matt and let out a little breath.

"It's sure refreshing to be the customer from time to time. The constant smiling can get very exhausting".

Matt glanced at Stiles, tilting his head to the side. "Oh yeah, you told me. You work as a waiter at uh, BLank, was it?"

"Yes, I do". Stiles smiled, pleased. He was happy that Matt actually remembered something of their long and animated conversations about, well, everything. And now that Stiles thought about it, it seemed like he had told Matt a lot about himself, whereas Matt had barely shared anything personal. Aside from his political views and some likes and dislikes, as well as the fact that Matt was sweet, kind and fairly funny, Stiles didn't really know a lot about him. He decided to change that.

"So tell me. Do you work anywhere?"

Matt shrugged. "Not officially. Sometimes I help out my uncle who lives just outside of town to earn some extra money, but not anything with a contract".

Stiles hummed. "So what do you do for him?"

Matt seemed a little overly nonchalant as he answered: "You know, some odd jobs here and there, nothing too special".

Stiles mentally scrunched his eyebrows at the vague description but decided to drop it. He had many other questions he wanted to ask Matt.

"Okay, so what would you _want_  to do, in the future?".

Matt shrugged yet again. "Well, you know I enjoy photographing, so I was thinking maybe something like that. But psychology really holds my interest too, so therapist is an option, too".

There was something, an ounce of private amusement in Matt's eyes at that and Stiles yet again found himself at loss with the guy.

"Oh, that sounds nice", Stiles replied rather awkwardly. Gladly Matt seemed to pay no mind.

"How 'bout you? Any plans for the future?"

Stiles told Matt about his plans, which weren't really all that well thought out. The conversation quickly took another route and they chatted about this and that while they ate. Matt seemed genuinely interested in what Stiles had to say and offered polite little smiles and amused chuckles at all the right places. Stiles found himself relaxed and smiling when they finally finished eating. He could easily imagine himself spending more time with Matt, in and out of school.

Stiles was just about to excuse himself in order to use the bathroom when he heard a familiar voice talking in its usual fast, irritated tone.

"Lydia?" Stiles turned his head towards the red-haired girl, Matt's gaze following his.

"Stiles?", Lydia said, sounding only vaguely surprised. "Well, this makes things easier for me. I need to talk to you".

Stiles raised his eyebrows, wondering what was up. He hadn't expected to see Lydia there. Yeah, she didn't live far off, New York wasn't terribly far away from Massachusetts, but it was still a four-hour drive. And Lydia hated traveling.

"Hey, uh, what're you doing here? I mean, not that it isn't nice to see you, just surprising", Stiles asked her. That's when he noticed the guy standing next to her.

"And why the hell is Jackson here?", Stiles demanded to know before Lydia had the chance to say anything. The last Stiles had heard of Jackson was when he'd moved to London after some really freakish near-death experience. That had really gotten Lydia off the rails, even though she had denied everything, saying she didn't need a man in her life in order to be happy. Well, Stiles thought, that part was true at least. Lydia was the toughest lady he had ever met, and that was saying a lot. After all, Allison was a badass, cross-bow wielding champ who could get real scary when someone messed with her loved ones. And then there had been Stiles' mom. He smiled sadly at that. Sometimes he really missed her.

Stiles' straying line of thought got interrupted by Matt's questioning voice. "Umm, Stiles? Do you know these people?".

Stiles looked up, having completely forgotten about Matt. Feeling slightly guilty, he was about to answer Matt when Lydia got there before him.

"Yes, he does. And who might you be?" Lydia's eyes were sharp and her smile overly polite in a way that let Stiles know she was busy and needed no further delay. He decided to step in.

" Lydia, this is Matt, a friend I met at campus. Matt, these are Lydia and Jackson. They're, uh..."

To be honest, Stiles had no idea how to describe the relationship between him and Lydia. The majority of his high school years had been spent helplessly pining after her and when he'd finally gotten over his ridiculous crush, things began to change. Lydia's careless ignorance of Stiles had started crumbling down after she had some sort of nervous breakdown during which running through the woods naked had occurred. Being the weirdo had not suited Lydia and Stiles had been there for her. Sure, their relationship was mostly based on mutual interest on math and science, and some should-be-way-too-private-to-share-with-anybody stuff they did, in fact, share with each other. Those times had really brought them close together and they had kept in touch even after high school had ended. Sharing troubles they dared not to tell anyone else, things like that. It was all very private and Stiles would very much like to call Lydia his friend. A crazy intelligent, way too pushy friend, but a friend still. He just wasn't sure what Lydia would think of that.

"I'm his friend. And Jackson here is, well. An acquaintance".

Well. There was his answer. Stiles smiled a slightly loopy smile at her and then frowned at Jackson when he rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Oh yeah, you never answered my question. Why is he here? London not as glamorous as it seemed?". Now it was Lydia's turn to roll her eyes. It seemed she was ready to get started on whatever it was she had to tell Stiles when Matt spoke.

"Stiles? It seems you have a lot to catch up with these, erm, friends of yours. I guess I'll be heading out, then".

Stiles rushed to tell him "No, you can stay, I'll get with them later" at the same time that Lydia said "Yes, we would appreciate that, thanks" in an irritated, dismissive tone. Stiles frowned at her and then shifted his gaze to Matt. And yes, he looked kinda pissed off. Well, pissed of and trying to hide it. But there was more. Something was off with the way he was looking at Lydia. There was resentment way too great to be aimed at someone who'd just interrupted a quick lunch with a newfound friend, albeit rudely. It startled Stiles slightly, but he shrugged it off. It was probably just a surprise to a guy that polite to be treated with the customary Martin cold shoulder. Lydia did take some getting used to, he supposed.

"Yeah, um, I think I'll just go. My treat, by the way". Matt laid a twenty dollar bill on the table. "See you later, Stiles". And with that, he was gone.

Stiles turned to look at Lydia again, his irritation disappearing when he remembered this was _Lydia_ , Lydia who he hadn't seen is person for a good six months. Lydia, who he Skyped with on a fairly regular basis. She was really there, in New York.

Stiles' grimace turned into a grin and Lydia smiled softly. "Long time no see, princess. What's up?"

Lydia's smile turned tentative at that. "Jackson's back from London".

"Yeah, I can see that", Stiles said glancing at the guy. He really wasn't Stiles' favorite person. If he was honest with himself, and lying to himself wasn't something Stiles liked to practice, the guy was an arrogant dick. Lydia had been with him in high school, which hadn't set things off too well for Stiles and Jackson when Stiles had still been desperately in love with her. In conclusion, Stiles and Scott had a long-standing tradition of calling Jackson Rich Bitch.

Jackson barely spared Stiles one bored look before tapping Lydia's shoulder. "I'm gonna grab the cheesecake and head back to the apartment. I'll see you there when you're done with him". Jackson planted a quick kiss on Lydia's cheek before stepping away further into the shop.

"Shall we?" Lydia ushered Stiles out the door and into the crispy air of autumn. They walked in silence for a while before they both started at the same time.

"So Jackson-"

"You gonna tell me more about this Matt?"

Lydia hummed in amusement and gestured for Stiles to go on. "So what's the deal with Jackson? Why's he here? Why are _you_ here?"

Lydia smiled again before speaking. "Jackson moved to New York at the beginning of the semester, about a month ago. He transferred schools and he started studies here at NYLS. I... I think we could really work it out, Stiles, I really do" Lydia beamed at this, and who was Stiles to ruin her joy.

"Well as long as you're sure about this, I guess I can't change your mind about dating that douche again", Stiles said, but he was grinning mischievously.

"And yes, as for why I am here, I came to visit him for the weekend. Thought I'd stop by and catch up with you, Allison and Scott while I'm at it. I haven't seen you guys in ages!"

Stiles checked his watch, deciding Scott and Allison were probably hanging out at the apartment by now. "Yeah, if now's okay, you could come see them. They should be loitering around our place right about now".

Lydia hmm'd and seemed to consider it for a while, finally nodding and saying: "I can let Jackson wait for a while. After all, he kept me waiting two whole years, the bastard".

They shared amused little grins and walked ahead for a while before Lydia repeated his earlier question. "So, who was that guy? Matt, right?"

Stiles glanced at his shoes in an attempt to hide his very manly blush. "Yeah, he's this guy I met at campus" he said, choosing his words carefully. "He's new so I agreed to show him around".

Lydia hmm'd again, her brow creasing. "There was something kind of familiar about him. I can't think of what, though..."

Lydia seemed to get lost in her head for a while, before apparently shrugging it off and turning back to Stiles, a knowing grin on her face. "So you like him, then? Was that the first date?"

Stiles blushed yet again and shook his head. "Oh, uh, no. That was not a date. We were just hanging out"

"But you wish it was?"

Stiles thought about it for a second. _Did_ he want it to be a date? A nervous chuckle made its way through Stiles' lips. Why wouldn't he want it to be a date? Matt seemed like a great guy.

"Yeah. I guess so".

 

(--)

 

"Hey, guys! Guess who's here to see you?" Stiles hollered as he opened the door to the apartment and heard Scott's and Allison's voices over the TV.

"Oh my god, Lydia!"

Allison came rushing through the living room, wrapping her best friend in a tight hug. "Oh, wow, it's been forever! What brought you here?"

That got the girls walking back to the living room, where Scott was waiting with a wide smile on his face. Stiles glanced at the clock again.

"Hey, guys! I'm gonna head to work! The shift ends at eleven".

His friends "okays" had Stiles closing the door and starting his walk to BLank. He huffed, thinking of the name. Who the hell named their restaurant BLank?Well, it seemed Derek did. Or maybe the travesty was to be blamed on the co-owner of the place. Stiles wasn't sure, but he thought he'd heard somewhere that the business partner of Derek's was his sister. Something with an L maybe?

Soon Stiles found himself at the restaurant and just as he started changing into his waiter's uniform, he noticed how quiet a night it was. Especially for a Friday.

Looking around, he only saw a couple of customers eating quietly and when he stepped into the kitchen, there were only Derek and one other chef, Boyd, working.

"Hey, quiet night, eh?"

Derek barely acknowledged Stiles by slightly raising his head and humming in agreement. Stiles sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for an order to deliver.

 

The rest of the evening went by slowly. Derek and Boyd were both quiet company and Erica, who should've been handling the shift with Stiles, along with a few others had been called off because of the lack of work. It was a little past ten and there had been no customers for an hour when Stiles finally started dozing off in his chair.

Stiles was just in the middle of a very nice dream of a very nice cheesecake (thanks a lot, Jackson) when an all too familiar yell woke him up, startling him.

"Stilinksi!"

Stiles yelped and shot off his chair, stumbling into something resembling a brick wall and bringing it down with him.

"Hhmmh?" Stiles blinked sleepily, slowly coming back to his senses. That's when he noticed there had been no brick wall. There had only been Derek.

Derek who was looking more unimpressed by the second.

Derek whose body felt entirely too amazing under Stiles.

"Whoaaackk!" The world was turning upside down again. When Stiles got his head back in the game, it was Derek who was pushing him to the floor, looking more exasperated than angry, really, which was great for Stiles' future in the working world.

"Umm..." Stiles had no idea what to say. And knowing Stiles, that was a rather hard thing to accomplish.

Derek just scowled. He scowled like it was the hot new thing. He scowled like his freaking dignity depended on it. And, taking to account the, erm, compromising position they were in, it might.

"You know, Stiles, you are not a very good employee. Stealing food, gossiping around, sleeping on the job... Makes me wonder why I keep you around".

Stiles swallowed and told his body to _calm the fuck down_. "Uhh, 'cause of my dazzling personality?"

Derek seemed to be perfectly happy there, grilling Stiles and judging him with those damned eyebrows of his. Stiles was not as comfortable. Or maybe he should say that he was getting a bit _too_ comfortable.

Finally Derek seemed to be satisfied with the amount of terror (among other things, but he didn't need to know that) he'd caused in Stiles. He got off the floor and, surprisingly, offered Stiles a hand. He took it and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, for real. Just uh, please don't fire me".

Derek considered Stiles for a while, his brow finally clearing and a ghost of a smile touching his lips. "Nah, I find your fumbling way too entertaining, so don't worry". With that, Derek turned his back to Stiles and happily exited the kitchen. Stiles stood there gaping for a while before huffing, deciding to just let it go. Derek seemed to really enjoy mocking Stiles.

A quick look around told Stiles the restaurant had closed already. The lights were shut and the front door locked. He was the only one there.

Stiles hastily changed out of his working clothes, surprised at being trusted enough to be left alone after hours. He got out through the back door that locked up automatically when he pushed it closed. The cold air was enough to wash off the last bits of arousal still left in Stiles' body. It was quite embarrassing how much of an effect Derek had on him, to be honest. Stiles shook it off, deciding very firmly not to go down that road and starting his walk through the busy streets of New York.

Just as Stiles was rounding the corner of his apartment building, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to the trees lining the buildings on the other side of the road. His heart started beating a little faster for no other reason that pure instinct pushing adrenaline through his system. He shook his head and made forced himself to calm down. Nothing was out there and getting scared of what was probably a stray cat was beyond silly.

He fumbled with his keys for a second before the right one slotted in the lock. He sighed in relief when the door closed behind him.

He didn't notice the flash of a camera going off.


	3. Do you really?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sooo...

Stiles was just finishing dinner with Scott, Allison and Lydia when he got the call. He grabbed the dirty dishes and put them in the sink, deciding to do the washing later, before answering.

"This is Stiles".

The voice at the other end of the call brought a smile to Stiles' lips. "Hey, Stiles! It's Matt".

"Hey, I've been meaning to call you, actually!" Thinking back, Stiles probably should've called a lot earlier. But oh well, there was nothing he could do about it now.

"Yeah, our lunch ended rather abruptly, didn't it?" Thankfully Matt didn't sound mad or even a little pissed off. Stiles chuckled, relieved.

"Yes, sorry about that. It was just, y'know, an old friend I hadn't seen for a long time. And she can be... Quite demanding".

"Yeah, I could tell". A chuckle. "But that's all in the past. And if you'd have some time right about now...?"

Stiles frowned and glanced at his friends at the other side of the kitchen. They'd been planning on spending the eventing together in celebration of Lydia's visit. And, okay, Jackson's, too. He was scheduled to arrive at eight o'clock and it was a little past seven now. He would bring a selection of probably superhero-themed movies (since that was a genre they all enjoyed, openly or reluctantly) and enough snacks to feed provide an entire army. Stiles had really been looking forward to it. Then again, he really wanted to see Matt, as well. Their busy schedules didn't really leave a lot of time for casual hang-out sessions. So Stiles decided to do the thing he was good at, at least occasionally. He compromised.

"Hey, actually, I'm having this movie night-thingy with my friends tonight... I'd really like you to come, if that's alright".

There was just silence from Matt.

"I mean, obviously you don't have to, if you don't want to, you know, it's just really casual and I thought you'd like to and uh, I dunno, it was stupid I guess-"

"Stiles! Calm down" Matt interrupted, laughing. "I'd love to come, you just took me by surprise, that's all. What time?"

Stiles cleared his throat, his face slightly red. "In about an hour? There'll be snacks and stupid movies and stuff like that. And you'll meet my other friends, too".

"Alright Stiles. If it's fine with your friends I'll come". Stiles did a little victory dance and gave Matt a quick okay before ending the call and bouncing off to the living room. His friends were all spread out in front of the television already. Scott and Allison were snuggled up in the love seat while Lydia had taken a whole couch to herself. Stiles got their attention by stepping between them and the TV, effectively blocking their view of the rerun of "The Real Housewives of O.C".

"Stiles, move your ass, we'll miss the part where they yell at each other!" Stiles rolled his eyes at Scott's idiocy.

"They're always yelling at each other. That's the point of here show!"

None of his friends seemed too impressed so Stiles decided to get to the point.

"So, uh... You know what, I'm just gonna go and and throw it at ya. I kinda, sorta invited Matt over for the evening. Hope that's alright with you guys".

Stiles looked around nervously. This night was supposed to be dedicated to the good (or, well, _interesting_ ) times back in Beacon Hills. He really hoped he hadn't made a huge mistake with inviting a person none of the others knew.

"Uh... Matt?" Scott asked. "That's the guy you have a big fat crush on, right?"

Stiles turned beet-red in a matter of seconds. Was it possible for a human being to suffer a stroke from embarrassment?

Allison laughed her customary soft-as-a-feather laugh and Stiles, yet again, rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, okay, he's the one, I guess...". Matt really did seem like a great guy and yes, Stiles could admit his feelings for him hadn't really managed to stay on the side of platonic. But the thing was... Stiles felt no all-consuming need to be around him. Sure, he enjoyed Matt's company and wanted him there, but it was... Different. Not as overpowering, like it had been with Lydia and Stiles' hopeless crush. Well, Stiles concluded, maybe he'd just grown up. Maybe this was what grown-up crushes felt like. No recklessness. No jumping head-first into any situation and embracing every little feeling like he would never get it back again. Now he used his head and thought things through. At least as much as his established case of severe Stilesdom would allow him to.

"Well, it's okay with me, at least. I mean, you coulda asked us before actually making the plans, but yeah... It's fine by me".

Bless Scott and his puppy dog nature. He'd be willing to let a stray cat come and join them if it were pathetic and helpless enough.

Allison smiled encouragingly, nodding along with Scott. "It's alright with me too, as long as you two will be able to keep it I'm your pants". There was that damn smirk. "It's the movie night policy of no additional sound-effects".

Stiles made the bitchface he liked to think of as his trademark. No one would agree with him, though, they all kept saying the flailing of his limbs was more Stiles than anything.

Whatever.

Stiles had completely forgotten there was one more opinion to be considered, so it startled him a little when Lydia announced her presence by pointedly clearing her throat.

"Stiles? Are you sure about this?"

Stiles blinked. What the hell kind of a question was that?

"Um, yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" Lydia frowned and hesitated a little before shaking her head minutely and saying: "This was supposed to be an evening for the five of us. I think it was rude for you to invite extra company without asking us first".

Before Stiles could even open his mouth to plead Lydia to let it go and forgive him (after all, Stiles did stupid things like this fairly often) Scott jumped in.

"Come on, Lydia. Let him have something nice for a change, would you?".

Stiles tried to mimic Scott's puppy eyes. "Yes, let your old friend Stiles have something nice for a change".

Lydia scoffed and waved her hand at them. Stiles took that as the 'alright, fine' it was meant to be and kissed Lydia on the cheek as a thank you. He was grinning like a loon when he grabbed his phone, sending a quick message to Matt as confirmation.

"Thanks guys! You're the best!"

 

(--)

 

By the time eight o'clock finally rolled around, Stiles had reduced into a hyperactive lump of nervous energy. Jackson had already arrived with everything anyone could ever hope to have for a nice evening of hanging out, but Matt was nowhere to be seen.

"Stiles, sit down! Hate to break it to you, dude, but you're not really achieving anything with that constant pacing. I think it only wears a hole in the mat in cartoons".

"Ha, ha, Scott. Aren't you in a funny mood today". Regardless, Stiles took his advice and sat down."Why isn't he here yet?".

Okay, so Stiles was a little worried. What if Matt wouldn't like his friends? Or even worse- what if his friends wouldn't like Matt? The opinion of the people sitting in that small living room, excluding Jackson of course, mattered to him more than he cared to admit. Stiles honestly didn't know what he'd do if they ended up hating Matt. It was a scenario he'd rather not consider. And it wasn't like that was likely to happen, anyway. Matt was a lovable guy. Scott and Allison would adore him and Lydia would at least learn to tolerate the guy. And as for Jackson, well. He could shove his opinion anywhere he wanted, Stiles didn't care.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the ringing doorbell. A wave of nervousness hit him again before he stomped it down and forced himself to smile.

Opening the door revealed a softly grinning Matt with a container of what seemed to be chocolate chip cookies in his hands.

"Oh my god dude, you really didn't have to bring anything. There's enough food to feed the hungry in there".

Matt's smirk just widened. "Good evening to you as well, Stiles. And yeah, I know, you told me. It just, well. Seemed rude for me not to bring anything since I'm already kind of intruding".

"Oh, shut up, you're not intruding. I invited you, remember? Now come in and let me have a cookie".

Stiles lead the way to the living room where all the others were bickering over which movie they should watch first. "Hey guys, Matt's here!"

That drew their attention from the huge stack of DVDs splayed all over the floor. Suddenly all eyes were on Matt and Stiles felt him shift beside him. A few moments went by in rather awkward silence, before Allison broke the three-mile layer of ice simply by smiling. God, sometimes Stiles really envied that smile.

"Well, let's put him to test, then. Hello Matt, I'm Allison. This dumbass here is called Scott and I believe you already met Lydia and Jackson. We can't really decide on a movie so, go ahead. Pick one, but you better get it right".

Stiles glanced at Matt, expecting to see him confused or something close to that. Instead he was met by a cocky smirk of confidence.

"Alright, I think I can do that". Matt moved around, checking the titles on the DVDs and seeming deep in contemplation. Finally, he picked up one from close to Allison's left foot.

"This one".

Scott's face broke into a huge grin. "Alright, dude! Good choice". He took the disk from Matt's hands and popped it in the player, much to the delight of Allison and dismay of Lydia and Jackson. Stiles suspected their preferred choices would have been The Notebook and some crappy, low-budget sports flick, respectively of course.

Stiles sat down at the end of the only vacant seat, which happened to be a beaten down couch with what Allison liked to call 'personality'. Stiles liked to call it crappiness.

Matt took a seat next to Stiles just as the movie started. It was The Avengers.

So, Matt really did have good taste in movies, at the very least.

 

(--)

 

They ended up watching three movies and being completely charmed by Matt.

It was a little past one at night when they decided to call the night quits. At that point, they had consumed multiple bags of chips and candy, cans and cans of beer and, of course, every single one of Matt's delicious cookies. All of them had a pleasant buzz going on by the time the last movie had ended and Matt had announced he'd better get out of their hair.

Stiles ended up walking Matt all the way to the door of the apartment building.

"So, Stiles. I had a lot of fun tonight".

Stiles smiled in an alcohol-fueled, easy way. "Yeah, me too. Maybe we'll do it again some time".

Matt nodded. "For sure".

Just as Stiles was about to turn around and wave his goodbye, Matt's expression changed. He went from contented calm to so passionate he seemed almost angry. Suddenly he grabbed Stiles by the front of his shirt, stared him straight in the eyes for a moment and then smashed their lips together in a kiss that was more teeth than anything else. He slid his hands from Stiles' front to his waist and hips and back again. For a moment, Stiles got lost in the sensation.

And then his brain caught up with him.

"Mmph-"

Stiles tried to gently push Matt off of him, but to no avail. He kept going for a short while before finally letting Stiles go, his hands still on his hips.

"Stiles?" Matt was breathing heavily, his pupils dilated. His eyes were searching Stiles' and there was something in them, something wild, and it scared Stiles. "Don't you want this? Don't you want me?"

Matt looked absolutely heartbroken with the thought. It confused Stiles. This was all moving so fast and Stiles just couldn't keep up.

"No, no, it's not that, it's just... It's all so soon and fast and-"

Where heartbreak had been on Matt's face before, there was now anger.

"Then why did you lead me on?! If you didn't want this, you shouldn't have made me think you did! You fucked me over, Stiles. Why would you do that?"

Stiles had no words. Surely he hadn't been leading Matt on... He wasn't completely sure if he wanted this, and he was allowed to get to know Matt better before making that decision, right? Stiles wasn't sure of anything anymore. Maybe Matt was right. Maybe he should make up his mind. Maybe he should've done that days ago. All he knew at that moment was that he wouldn't be getting another chance like this. Not with a guy as amazing as Matt.

So Stiles made up his mind and ignored the little voice in his head saying that this really _was_  going too fast for his liking, and that the way he felt about it mattered. He made up his mind and pulled Matt closer to him.

"I wasn't leading you on. I want you".

And he pulled Matt into another kiss.

 

(--)

 

"Stiles?" Scott's voice greeted him at the door. He checked the time. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since he'd left the apartment with Matt.

"We were wondering what was taking you so long", Allison smirked as he looked Stiles up and down. "Guess Scott owes me ten bucks".

At that Jackson emerged from the bathroom. He, too, gave Stiles a speculative once-over.

"I see you got straight down to business, then. Figures".

Confused, Stiles gave both of them the side-eye before slipping past Jackson to the bathroom. In there, he went straight to the sink and, without caring to check his reflection, splashed a generous amount of water onto his face. Eyes closed, he began to think.

Stiles cared for Matt. In some strange way he had already imprinted on him so strongly it was weird to think of his life without the guy. He wasn't as important as Scott or Allison, of course, not yet, but Stiles could see where the whole thing was going. He just didn't know if he wanted it to go there.

What was he thinking, of course he wanted it. Why wouldn't he? Matt was gorgeous, charming, extremely talented and he liked Stiles. He _liked_  Stiles. And, sadly, there weren't too many people who did, and even less of those who liked him in that way.

Stiles did genuinely like Matt. He liked him a lot. And he was attracted to him. Just because everything was moving a little fast didn't mean anything. Or maybe it was a good thing. No time to waste when they could be doing things far more pleasant than sorting through conflicted thoughts.

And, really, he _was_ gorgeous. In the life outside of movies, Stiles knew only one person who was more attractive than him.

And, well. That was so not happening.

Stiles rolled his eyes at his own ridiculousness and went for the towel. And then he happened to catch his reflection in the mirror above the sink.

And he let out a choked laugh.

Now he understood what Jackson and Allison had been going on about. He suppressed a giggle. He looked absolutely wrecked. His lips were swollen and red, his neck decorated with numerous hickeys and his eyes were a little out of it. Well, so much out of it that it clearly wasn't just the effects of the alcohol.

And then something dawned on him.

"Scott! Allison! Where you betting on me and Matt tonight!?"

 

(--)

 

The next morning was a great one for Stiles.

The last bit of doubt he'd had about what had happened with Matt were gone and he was ecstatic. He channeled his great mood into singing and dancing around the apartment, even as some of the others (read: Jackson and Scott) were still sleeping. Or trying to.

"Shut the hell up, Stilinski! There are people here who do _not_  want to hear your interpretation of "Raining Men" at _eight o'clock in the morning"._         

Stiles was feeling particularly evil and just continued to sing at the general direction of Jackson as he slowly dragged himself towards the smell of coffee. Lydia joined in on his mocking, but that was just her being Lydia.

"So, Stiles..." Allison started. "Is the deal with Matt officially sealed now?"

Stiles blushed a little in spite of himself. "I guess so".

He could see something mischievous in Allison's smile and wondered what he was in for later. Probably endless hours of suggestive comments and sexual innuendos. Oh, well. That was what friends were for, he thought. And he had made his fair share of both in the time that Scott and Allison had been together, so he supposed he did deserve everything that was about to come.

"So what'd you think? Is Matt worthy?".

Allison gave him a definite nod. "He seems absolutely wonderful. And like a true gentleman".

Scott just snored on the sofa. Stiles didn't know how he managed.

Jackson huffed out an aggravated puff of air. That was enough for Stiles.

And Lydia... Lydia... Was looking at Stiles with a little worry line between her eyebrows. "Uh, Lydia? Is something wrong?"

At that she seemed to snap out of her thoughts. "Oh, no. At least I don't think so. It's just that he seems so familiar but I can't figure out why. It's quite infuriating".

"Oh". Just that, then. Stiles let out a little breath. It was such a relief that his friends liked Matt as well, and accepted their relationship. Like a weight off his shoulders.

As Stiles poured himself some coffee and truly considered his life for the first time in a very long while, he felt like everything was finally going his way. He couldn't wait to see Matt again.

 


End file.
